Almost everyone uses language, so inevitably almost everyone thinks they are an expert in it. I don’t consider myself an expert, though most of my work requires at least language competence and sometimes actual skill, but I do follow the blogs featured on this feeds page.
(If you are wondering where the translation-related feeds have all gone, I have put them on their own page.)
Most of the blogs represented here are in English, most of the time, but don’t be surprised to find other languages used. Go with the flow – I occasionally find myself pleasantly surprised at how much I can grasp in languages I have never seen before.
Language On the Net
Wordorigins.org » curmudgeon
The origin of curmudgeon is not known for certain, although etymologist Anatoly Liberman provides a reasonable explanation. What we do know for certain is that the earliest known use of the word can be found in Richard Stanyhurst’s A Treatise Contayning a Playne and Perfect Description of Irelande, which appears in the 1577 edition of Holinshed’s Chronicles (the OED cites … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » Boner Bungee
Strapping a relentless boner down with the elastic waist band of your boxers. Jess: Jesus Mike, would you do something about that boner? It's making all the Pi Phi's uncomfortable.Mike: I can't, miss perfect tits just walked by and I nearly got Boner Narcolepsy.Jess: Well strap it down with a Boner Bungee, or someone's going to call campus police. … [Link]
Language Log » (Whether) to dispose (of) or not to dispose (of)
From Florent Moncomble, a language academic in France: My father came back recently from a trip to Japan and was intrigued by the following notice, which he found in his Tokyo hotel room one day. He gets by in English but could not make out its meaning and was wondering whether the fault lay with him or with the message … [Link]
Language Log » What's in a name — Pikachu, Beikaciu, Pikaqiu?
Since I began writing blogs for Language Log around ten years ago, I have never received so many tips on what to write about as I have in response to the furor that has arisen over Nintendo's plan to change the Chinese names for some of the characters in their immensely popular Pokémon (ポケモン < Pokettomonsutā ポケットモンスター ["Pocket Monster"]) game series. For example, much loved Pikachu (Pikachū ピカチュウ) was originally called Bei2kaat1ciu1 比卡超 in Hong Kong, which is very close to its Japanese name, Pikachu. But now Nintendo wants to get rid of Bei2kaat1ciu1 比卡超 and force the people of Hong Kong to use the Mandarin name Píkǎqiū 皮卡丘. This same policy extends to more than a hundred Pokemon characters, who will be renamed in accordance with Mandarin transcriptions. You can imagine how alien that will sound to Cantonese speakers who have grown up with Pokemon characters having Cantonese names now to lose those intimate appellations in favor of names that have a Mandarin ring to them. In the current political climate, with Hong Kong under increasing pressure from China to adhere to mainland norms regarding law, censorship, freedom of speech, and, worst of all, language (Mandarin over Cantonese) and script (simplified characters over traditional characters), the people of Hong Kong are acutely sensitive to anything that smacks of further mainlandization. Mandarin written in simplified characters is truly repellant to nearly all people of Hong Kong, who consider the simplified characters pretty much of an abomination (this is what I hear from my friends, colleagues, and students there [not immigrants from the mainland]), and think that, while the many Mandarin topolects (with their reduced phonologies) may be all right for northerners, they sound uncouth to their southern ear that is accustomed to a greater range of tones and a different set of consonants and vowels (1,760 syllables vs. about 1,300 syllables). Now Nintendo wants to unify them: Pokémon in Greater China will be officially called Jīnglíng Bǎokěmèng 精靈寶可夢 in Mandarin (Jīnglíng means “spirit” or “elf”, and Bǎokěmèng is a transcription of Pokémon). In Hong Kong, Pokémon used to be called Cung2mat6 siu2zing1ling4 寵物小精靈 ("Pet Little Elves / Spirits"), while in Taiwan, it was Shénqí bǎobèi 神奇寶貝 ("Magic Babies"). As noted above, Pikachu was originally transcribed as Bei2kaat1ciu1 比卡超 in Hong Kong. Now it will be named Píkǎqiū 皮卡丘. While the name Píkǎqiū 皮卡丘 in Mandarin allegedly sounds similar to the global name Pikachu, it is pronounced Pei4kaa1jau1 in Cantonese, which sounds very different. If I were a Mandarin speaker, I wouldn't be happy with Píkǎqiū 皮卡丘 either, since the last syllable is way off. I'd much prefer something like Píkǎchù 皮卡處. Here's some of the news coverage on renaming of the Pokemon characters in the Sinosphere: "Nintendo is renaming Pikachu in one of its largest markets, and Hong Kongers are not happy" (Quartz, 5/30/16) Nintendo “should respect our local culture,” Chu Sung Tak, a 18-year-old high school graduate at the protest said. Chu said he is a Pokémon fan, but he joined the demonstration mostly because he wanted to “defend local language.” He vowed to boycott Nintendo if the company doesn’t answer their demands. From Nintendo’s standpoint, a unified Chinese translation is probably a simple commercial decision. But to Hong Kong activists, language is also political. “Our culture [and] language is threatened by the Beijing government, Mandarin, and simplified Chinese [characters],” said Wong Yeung-tat, founder of Civic Passion, a radical localist group which seeks independence from China…. “We’re afraid Cantonese may be disappearing.” Video game renaming is just a tiny part of the shift to Mandarin—[only] 40% of Hong Kong’s primary schools are teaching Cantonese, a recent survey found. Since the release of Pokémon’s Chinese names, Hong Kong have vowed to boycott Nintendo on its Hong Kong Facebook page. “Pikachu is 比卡超, not 皮卡丘, I hereby vow I will never buy from Nintendo again, unless you finally understand what is Cantonese and the correct Chinese usage,” one gamer wrote. “Nintendo, why do you want to insult Cantonese?,” another asked. … In a letter (link in Chinese), Nintendo (Hong Kong) Ltd. Games asked Hong Kong fans to read the Pokémon’s name as “Pikachu,” despite how it sounds in Cantonese. On many levels, that is a callous sacrilege. This is serious business, with demonstrations and protests in front of the Japanese Consulate in Central, Hong Kong. "Why the plan to rename Pikachu has made Hong Kong angry " (BBC, 5/31/16) "Hong Kong Pokémon fans protest over Pikachu translation: A decision to cut the Cantonese version of 'Pokemon Sun and Moon' has caused a backlash among Hong Kong residents." (endgadget, 5/31/16) "Hong Kongers Protest Over New Translation of 'Pikachu'" (WSJ, 2/31/16) Excellent video in which you can hear the relevant pronunciations spoken clearly in Cantonese and Mandarin, and with this whammy of a closing sentence: "I'd rather play the Japanese version of the video game." The people of Hong Kong are up in arms over these name changes. For Hong Kongers, it's not simply Nintendo's whim to compel Cantonese speakers to adopt a Mandarin name. Rather, they see these changes as an attack on their language and culture. > [Link]
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
You must log in to post a comment.